Thursday, 24 September 2009

Even if it's not Lance Armstrong's, it is still a cool bike shop. But then again, there are lots of Lance's memoribilia strewn all over the place, giving out the cool factor. What I mean to say is that, it's more than a bike shop.

The name itself is unique - Mellow Johnny's is based on 'maillot jaune', or yellow jersey for you and me. The bike shop was opened since May 10th 2008. There's a rhyme to all three - well, you'd figure that out already.

Friday, 18 September 2009

The card is my first ever I received for this year’s Eid. A very thoughtful gesture by Gjoe, during this cyber-age when everyone (including me) sends e-cards for the sake of convenience (and cheap, mind you).

Ahh… and the pièce de résistance (drum rolls, please): a pair of Netti Equaliser cycling shorts.

I tried them on straight away (okay, after reading the Raya card). First of all, Gjoe got my size right, an M. You can sense its quality make, visually and by touch. The fabric feels nice, and the padded shorts inside are not too tight. The coolmax padding looks the part. The colour is charcoal – black, for you and me – quite a safe pick, I loved it right away. I paraded in it for a while in my room to get the feel, and suddenly I felt itchy on my bottom. Itching to try it on the saddle offroad, that is.

Hmm… soon, after Hari Raya, insyaAllah. I hope the shorts will still fit me after rendang, ketupat, lemang and all the usual fatty festive food.

Thursday, 17 September 2009

1.Sergeant Major Azhar of IPD Seri Alam gave a talk on a Friday morning during our safety talk session.

2.He pointed out that it is estimated about 5,000 to 25,000 vehicles are travelling along the Pasir Gudang Highway between 6:00am and 9:00am (on a normal day, I guess).

3.That fact sent shiver to my spine. Never again will I ride along the highway during peak hours in the morning for my RTW.

4.I did it a few times, during my initial RTW days. After that I resorted to much safer routes. However, with the ever increasing number of vehicles coming into my workplace, it seems that the ‘safer’ route I’m using won’t be so any longer. Need to search for alternatives.

5.Two days ago, a fatal accident happened involving a cyclist at the junction in front of my workplace, off the Pasir Gudang Highway.

6.I would not put the photo of the victim, although it is not quite gory. Suffice to say that there’s a stream of blood from his head, on the road. However, the photo above is of the other party of the accident – the car.

7.I don’t have enough facts of the accident, but that doesn’t matter for this entry. I don’t know whether the victim survives, or not; I don’t know what’s the full story is, but I know that the victim is not Malaysian. And he didn’t wear a helmet.

8.Wear your helmets when you’re cycling – it may save your life, or reduce the impact of an accident.

9.And don’t use the highway, especially during peak hours. Find alternatives, even though it would mean a longer route. You’ll benefit from the extra workout.

Due to many requests by our members, Nomad Adventure is postponing GPS (Gopeng Peanut Search) to 15th Nov 2009 (Sun). Please take note of the changes in the closing dates for submission of participation form and also GPS name-play contest:

Early bird entry fee - 16th Oct (Fri)

Closing date for entry – 31st Oct (Sat)

Closing date for GPS quirky name-play contest – 16th Oct (Fri)

On this note, we would also like to welcome our Official Sponsors for GPS : TEVA, Redbull and Corezone. More event sponsors are in the pipe-line – so tune in for more updates.

Next updates will include event trail info – we are very excited about all the wonderful new trails found around Gopeng area. Plenty of challenging trails leading into the mountain range east of Gopeng, and also scenic routes around the ex-mining pools of Kinta Valley.